Former “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino was hospitalized last night (August 9) in Charlotte, NC for a medication overdose according to a WCNBC report.

This comes right on the heels of news that the singer was recently named in a lawsuit by Paula Cook, claiming Barrino wrecked her marriage.

Among other things, Cook alleges Barrino made a sex tape with her husband.

On Monday, Barrino’s manager, Brian D***ens released a statement to TMZ, saying Barrino was “certain that she is not responsible for the deterioration of the Cook’s marriage.”

The statement also went on to say, “Fantasia will weather this storm with the dignity and grace that she has exemplified throughout a life in which she has repeatedly overcome obstacles and challenges. Fantasia’s faith in God, herself and family remain as strong as ever.”

Right now, Barrino doesn’t appear to be “weathering the storm” all that well. Hopefully she will pull through this and emerge ok.

RAPPER Eminem has a crush on Rihanna and wants to date her.
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Betty told Heat magazine: “I can totally see what any girl including Rihanna would see in him. He’s so charming; he has always had adorable, beautiful blue eyes and this charming, wonderful smile.”

The rapper, who recently recorded a duet with the star entitled ‘Love the Way You Lie’, has a crush on the Barbados-born singer and his grandmother Betty Kresin thinks they would make a great couple

“Rihanna would make a suitable partner for Marshall. But he needs to enjoy life and not get carried away with any relationships at the moment.

Rihanna and Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, are reportedly in constant communication, but for the ‘Umbrella’ singer – who is dating baseball star Matt Kemp – their relationship is purely platonic.

A source said: “Marshall would date Rihanna in a heartbeat if she showed even the slightest interest. They’re on the phone and texting each other constantly.”

Rihanna, who was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in February 2009 – recently admitted she felt “connected” to the lyrical references to domestic abuse in ‘Love the Way You Lie’.

She said: “It’s something that, you know, we’ve both experienced on different sides, different ends of the table.

“Eminem pretty much just broke down the cycle of domestic violence and it’s something that people don’t have a lot of insight on.

“I knew if he sent me a record there must be something to it. It couldn’t just be, ‘Oh, duh! She was in that relationship so we have to get her.’ The lyrics were so deep, so beautiful and intense. It’s something that I understood, something I connected with.”

The State Law Enforcement Division and the State Attorney General are now involved in the investigation of a deputy caught on tape repeatedly hitting a handcuffed inmate with his baton, breaking his leg.

Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill told WIS-TV, he fired 50 year old Sergeant Oddie Tribble, Jr. last Friday, one day after the incident at the Kershaw County Detention Center.

The victim, 38 year old Charles Shelley told WIS by phone Monday, he and Tribble exchanged words, and Tribble ordered Shelley to get out of the van.

“I’m in handcuffs, he tells me to get out of the van and commence to beating me with the pipe he had”, Shelley said.

WIS detailed parts of Tribble’s report in a report on its website Tuesday:

Tribble’s report stated that he was driving a KCSO prisoner transport van to the jail when the victim “became irate and began making threatening comments.” Tribble reported the man threatened to use the internet to find where he lives and, “I want to kill your family, your wife, and daughter anybody that is associated with you in your home,” Tribble reported.

Once inside the sally port, Tribble reported that he started to remove the victim from the van when the victim, “jerked away,” and Tribble grabbed the victim by the side. Tribble wrote that the man jerked away a second time. That’s when Tribble said he pulled out his steel baton.

Tribble reported that he “struck SUBY (subject) about his lower extremities,” before the man fell. Tribble said the man then started listening to “verbal commands,” and the officer got the man to his feet. KCSO Lieutenant Robinson ordered Tribble to take the man to the emergency room, according to the report.

SLED announced its involvement in the investigation in a press release Monday.

Director Reggie Lloyd says “These are all serious allegations and we appreciate each department’s leadership and prompt notification. We also greatly appreciate our continuing, strong partnership with the FBI on these and other major investigations. These allegations do not reflect the professional work of thousands of South Carolina law enforcement officers each and every day. All subjects of these investigations are presumed innocent of these charges at this time.”

State Attorney General Henry McMaster’s office picked up the case on Monday and will decide on any charges against Tribble.

Shelley is still in jail on outstanding warrants for giving false information to police, driving under suspension 2nd offense, habitual traffic offender, open container, and possession of marijuana.

Toledo, OH (WTVG) — The woman who attacked a McDonald’s drive-thru worker made national headlines. Now you can see the attack for yourself.

The woman wanted McNuggets from a McDonalds in Toledo which was only serving breakfast. She reacted by punching the drive-thru worker in the mouth and shattering the drive-thru window.

It all happened around 6 a.m. New Year’s Day at the east side McDonalds at the corner of Main and Front. Surveillance video, released today, captures the assault as it unfolds. The woman in the car is Melodi Dushane, 24 years old at the time.

The video doesn’t have sound, but it appears Dushane and the employee get in a verbal argument before it escalates. Dushane gets out of her car while another worker tries to close the window. She punches that woman in the face and continues yelling. At one point, she even appears to lift her leg to attempt to climb in.

When the first employee returns, Dushane hits her too. That woman grabs a hold of Dushane’s hair, but she lets go. It then takes three McDonald’s employees to slide the window closed while Dushane continues to try and keep it open.

She then starts ramming her elbow against the glass, goes back into her car, and emerges to throw a bottle through the window before driving off.

Last month, Dushane got 60 days behind bars and three years probation. She also has to pay McDonalds more than $1,500 for the damages. She apologized to the court, and her attorney says she was drinking the night of the incident and suffers from panic attacks, which she blames for leading up to the attack.

The McDonald’s employees, on the other hand, managed to keep their cool. In the video they can be seen calmly handing food through the window to the next customer.

Well that didn’t take long, Jeezy’s dropped “Death Before Dishonor” , now all hell is breaking loose..

It’s easy to tell right off the bat that Jeezy was going at Officer Ross with the lines, “How you Blowin’ Money Fast?/ You don’t know the crew/ Oh, you part of the fam?/ Sh–, I never knew.”

From the time Officer Ross dropped “BMF (Blowing Money Fast)” there has been speculation that it didn’t sit well with Jeezy.

Especially because Ross screams repeatedly “I think I’m Big Meech” in the song. For those that may not know, Big Meech is the head of the Black Mafia Family (BMF). Young Jeezy is heavily affiliated with them. Meech was brought down by the Feds on a variety of charges including running a continuing criminal enterprise, cocaine distribution and money laundering.

Big Meech
While there have been reports that Meech is ok with Officer Ross’ song. Today, Jeezy let it be known that he is not.

This is actually the 2nd track, Jeezy has dropped regarding this situation. Back in June he dropped his own version of BMF called “The Real Blowing Money Fast” which featured Big Meech.

When contacted by MTV, Officer Ross said he was confused by Jeezy’s 1st BMF release, “It confused me that if it was called ‘The Real B.M.F.,’ I would have called it ‘The Black Mafia Family.’ … You know, you may have to ask him.”

I guess he isn’t confused anymore because one of his Triple C members, Torch is going ape sh*t on twitter dissing Jeezy.

Here’s a sample of Torch’s reckless tweets that are still going as I type this.

“SIN€E This F***** ass Rap Nikka Sneak Dissing I Think Its Only Right We Start A Trending Topik Kalled #JeezyWhyUMad.”

Hip hop OG Ice Cube’s ninth studio album I AM THE WEST is nearly finished, but according to the gangsta rap veteran, the western union that was to be, with his former N.W.A. member Dr. Dre, will no longer happen.

Reporting via his blog, Cube stated that the good Doc’s reclusion was the reason he missed the bus to be on the project, scheduled for release September 28.

“I’m almost done with my record, I AM THE WEST. I’ve been mixing songs and dealing with paperwork all week and I’m down to my last 4 songs to mix. It’s bangin’. I think we’ll end up wit about 15 songs when it’s all said and done and I’m real happy wit it. As a matter of fact, I’m in the Lench Mob Studios writing this blog right now.

I’m going to Philly in the morning to promote Lottery Ticket. Many asked about Dr. Dre working on my album. Negative, Dre has been M.I.A. for a few months now. I asked Snoop has he heard from him and he said, no. I can’t wait. I gotta turn my sh*t in by Aug. 20th to make street date…Sept 28th. I’ll keep you posted if anythang new develops.”

Despite the absence of Dre, the album will have production from west side vets, DJ Quick, E-A-Ski and Sir Jinx. Cube is also starring in the comedy film, Lottery Ticket, alongside Bow Wow, Mike Epps, Naturi Naughton and Teairra Mari, in theatres August 20.

Another day, another soon to be internet celebrity. There’s a local show in Mobile,Alabama titled ‘County Law’ which is basically a local version of the national show ‘Cops’. Well one night they appeared at this ‘lucky’ lady’s home to film the arrest of another woman who reports say is her sister.

While watching someone close to you get arrested is rarely a fun event, this just happened to be one of those rare occasions as this lady acts as if someone showed up at her door to tell her she won a contest or something lol. Check out her excitement below.

Gucci visited iPower921 for an exclusive interview with A Plus. When A Plus started talkin to him about his recent situation with Wacka Flacka, Gucci got up and walked out on the interview 20 secs before going on air. This beef must be real!

Looks like Lebron’s longtime girlfriendSavannah Brinson is ready for her share of the spotlight….my girl Lola O. interviewed her for Harper’s Bazaar this month. And there were some interesting talking points that reflect her personality (she seems like a sweet, even-keeled, small-town 24-year-old who is happy as such) and her relationship with Lebron (who seems like he is…more affected).

On the topic of Lebron’s Decision to sign with Miami:“Personally, Miami was not my favorite place. Vacationing there is great: You go for three days and get some sun, and it’s time to go home…It will definitely be an adjustment, but we’ll make it. We’re not complaining…Whatever LeBron felt was comfortable, I’m with him. I just love him so much. We’re soul mates.”

Then Savannah’s mom chimes in, “Don’t you think he knows the difference between ruthlessness and love? If LeBron was going to do something shady, he can do that around the corner. He doesn’t have to go to Miami.” But honestly, that not only sounds naive, it’s sounds like a defensive mechanism.

Meanwhile what does Lebron’s longtime wifey (the pair started dating in highschool) think about becoming his wife?

Savannah Brinson tells Bazaar that she will split her time between Miami and Cleveland because she wants her kids to be able to stay near their friends and go to school as normal. (I definitely hope that whatever displaced anger the folks in Ohio feel about a friggin’ basketball player….they don’t spread that disrespect to his kids. That would be beyond disgusting). She’s starting a furniture line and a girls empowerment charity called “Girl Listen”….and has a laissez-faire attitude about marriage (at least she says).

Though she and James are now a family unit with two sons, one can’t help but notice the diamondless finger on Brinson’s left hand. She says a wedding is not on the horizon, though she has been dreaming about that day since she was six. “I’ve definitely not put a fire under his ass,” she says. “I would never rush him to do something like that. We’re really comfortable with the way things are now. And it’s not up to me. When it happens, it happens.

“We talk about it. If we do it, I want it to be forever,” she continues. Until then, Brinson knows that the blogosphere will continue to refer to her as James’s baby mama. She’s not bothered by the description but makes it clear that she feels like she’s more than a catchphrase. “I’m the mother of his children,” she says proudly. “I’m not a baby mama. There’s a lot more to me than that.”

Rapper and former Fugees singer Wyclef Jean made the first televised announcement of his bid for Haitian president last night on CNN. After several satellite interview segments between Wyclef and Wolf Blitzer, philanthropist Sean Penn shared harsh words for the Haitian rapper, questioning his motives and value as a leader.

“This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I’m very sus***ious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador at large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been a non-presence,” Penn said.

Jean, 37, was born in Haiti but left soon after and was raised in Brooklyn and New Jersey. He established the Yelé Haiti foundation in 2005, providing aid and opportunities to the country’s citizens.

Penn, who has been active in Haiti since the earthquake, highlighted allegations that Wyclef mishandled $400,000 donated for the country through his Yele Haiti foundation. “He claims he didn’t do it. That has to be looked into it,” Penn said. “I’ve been there. I know what $400,000 could do for these people’s lives.”

Wyclef’s political motives were a particular concern for Penn. “I see in Wyclef Jean somebody who could well have been influenced by the promise of support of companies. I think Haiti is clearly vulnerable … There is a history of American interests coming in and underpaying people. This is a culture or one to two dollars a day, that they were making.”

Penn openly worried about American corporations and individuals “enamored” with Wyclef becoming “opportunists on the back of the Haitian people.”

“I haven’t seen or heard anything of [Wyclef Jean] in these last six months that I’ve been in Haiti. I think he’s an important voice. I hope he doesn’t sacrifice that voice by taking the eye off the very devastating realities on the ground,” Penn said. “I want to see someone who’s really, really willing to sacrifice for their country, and not just someone who I personally saw with vulgar entourage of vehicles that demonstrated a wealth in Haiti that, in context, I felt was a very obscene demonstration.”

In 2008, Wyclef recorded a song called ‘If I Was President’. Notable lyrics include: “If I was president / I’d get elected on Friday / Assasinated on Saturday / And buried on Sunday” and “Instead of spending billions on the war / We can use some of that money, in the ghetto / I know some so poor, when it rains that when they shower / Screaming ‘fight the power.’

Decoded, a book published by Spiegel & Grau that mixes first-person memoir with detailed discussions of his most famous and provocative lyrics, will hit bookstores on November 16th, 2010. Jay-Z collaborated with former The Source editor Dream Hampton on the book, which includes interviews with Jay-Z’s family and friends as well as the rapper, himself. Over its 336 pages, Decoded will trace Jay-Z’s life from his childhood in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects to his years as a teen drug dealer to becoming a hip-hop superstar. The hardcover, illustrated book will also explore Jay-Z’s creative process.

When Rolling Stone spoke to Jay-Z for our June 2010 cover story, he talked about why he was reluctant to release the autobiographical work, even though it was completed several years ago. “It’s too much. For the book, I was interviewed, people close to me were interviewed. So I was learning a lot of things I didn’t know as a child,” Jay-Z told RS. “It’s not anything I haven’t said in the past, in songs. It’s just more detailed. A song is three minutes long. A book doesn’t have to rhyme, and it has no time limit, so you can say exactly how everything went.”

Jay-Z also admitted he was most affected by parts of Decoded that concerned his father, who abandoned the family when Jay-Z was 11. “It was still wrong, at the end of the day, but he did stick around at a time where it wasn’t particularly cool or popular,” Jay-Z said. “He married my mom at a time when guys were just leaving, and you’d never even meet your dad. So it made me ease up a little bit in how I felt about him.”

Since Decoded was completed several years ago, it remains unclear whether the book will feature additional chapters detailing Jay-Z’s last few years, including The Blueprint 3, his 360 deal with Live Nation, being a part owner of the New Jersey Nets and, his most guarded subject, his marriage to Beyoncé.